Tales from Bojuri: Aboabaku

Long ago in the land of Bojuri, a small village not far from Ogbomoso, a land of the mischievous and mysterious, a land of strange happenings. A land where evil is raw, lived Falomo, a very wealthy and respected man in Bojuri. He was envied by many because of the lifestyle and affluence he possessed. He was strong, joyous and powerful but there was a day he dreaded and that was because of the chieftaincy title he possessed. He was the Aboabaku, the chief servant that gets buried with the king at his funeral.

Aboabaku wasn’t a title contested for, it was a title bestowed on the Falomo’s family because of the bond the ancestors shared with the royal hood. Seven generations of their family had been buried alive with the king to serve him in the life after death along with seven other maids that volunteered. Whenever Falomo and his family remembered the fate that will befall them, they shook with fear. Whenever Oba Kinirun fell ill, the whole Falomo family fell ill.

As had been with other generations, Falomo’s first son, Faleye and Oba Kinirun first son, Amotekun, who was the heir to the throne of Bojuri were supposed to be friends but they weren’t. Faleye didn’t understand why the head of his family had to die along with the king or why the king would need escorts in the other life. This was further enhanced by the words of the preacher from the other village that claimed that there was judgement and equality after death.

Amotekun on the other hand could not understand why his father could give so much respect and authority to a mere servant, someone who was going to be his servant in life and in death. He wanted to order Faleye around now but he couldn’t be entitled to an Aboabaku until he became king and he wished to torture Faleye for his perceived dislike towards him and planned to deal with him.

‘I would never let my servant own a house’ he thought, ‘I would show Faleye how a servant is treated’. With this hatred Amotekun grew up to become a hostile and wicked prince.

On the twenty fifth year of Oba Kinirun’s reign, Bojuri was thrown into one of the most controversial periods since its existence. The Aboabaku died before the king causing the whole village in turmoil most especially as Faleye the heir to the Aboabaku was reluctant to accept this title most especially because of his new religion, Christianity.

Oba Kinirun, being an upright man, tried to cajole and convince Faleye to embrace tradition and accept his inheritance as the Aboabaku but the latter wasn’t willing to listen.

‘This new religion has brainwashed this small boy. How dare he defy what has been ordained by our ancestors’ complained Oba Kinirun, but despite his pain, he refused to listen to the advices of his chiefs and Amotekun, his son who wanted him to forcefully jail Faleye till he was ready to be buried alive when the time came.

Oba kinirun consulted with the Ifa priest on what he should do and the Ifa told him there was nothing he could do to Faleye as the God he worshipped was bigger than the Ifa. On discovering this, Oba Kinirun decided to put away all traditions this new religion rejected and embrace this Almighty God of mercy. This didn’t go down well with the Ifa priest, the chiefs and even Amotekun, his evil son. That was the beginning of Oba Kinirun’s downfall and there were plots to displace this ‘soft’, ‘merciful’ king even if it meant taking his life.